


In Three Days

by Hoshikorei



Category: citrus - サブロウタ | citrus - Saburouta
Genre: F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Mentions of Kayo/Mitsuko
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-02 14:02:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17265500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hoshikorei/pseuds/Hoshikorei
Summary: Her parents would only be staying over for three more days. If she and Matsuri could be convincing enough by then, then her parents would leave her alone about finding someone. It was only three more days. After those three days it would all be over.Harumi was just hoping she wasn’t making the biggest mistake of her life.





	In Three Days

“The day I fall for you is the day when pigs fly,” Harumi declared with annoyance.

“Aw, you don’t really mean that do you, Taniguchi-senpai?” Matsuri playfully pouted.

The older girl pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling herself starting to lose her cool around this gremlin. On most days, she could tolerate the pink-haired girl’s very presence. But on days such as these, where Matsuri persisted with her jokes, Harumi just couldn’t take it. It was days like these that made her question how on Earth this little devil was ever Yuzu’s childhood friend. Harumi could barely deal with her for a few minutes. She couldn’t even imagine experiencing the misfortune of knowing Matsuri for almost her whole life.

“Yes. I. Do.”

The look on Matsuri’s face almost looked as if she was a kicked puppy, and Harumi couldn’t care less. She continued to bury herself in the magazine she always brought with her to distract herself from Matsuri’s pestering.

She didn’t even know why Matsuri constantly joked about that kind of stuff, especially with her. Harumi figured it was just Matsuri’s way of easing her boredom, which she couldn’t seem to find much from anyone else. Either way, she wasn’t going to put up with her antics any longer.

“Taniguchi-senpaiiiiiiiii,” Matsuri whined in that high pitched voice of her’s.

“It’s like I said,” Harumi repeated firmly. “The day I fall for you is the day when pigs fly, which is...never.” She continued to flip through the pages of her magazine in an attempt to forget about Matsuri's presence.

Firmly, Harumi stuck to that belief. No way in hell would she ever consider Matsuri as a romantic interest whatsoever. She wouldn’t even date the little gremlin as a joke.

That’s what Harumi always told herself, at least.

“You want me to what?” Matsuri asked dumbfoundedly.

Harumi felt herself internally cringing at her request. Matsuri was the last person on Earth she would ever consider for this kind of thing she needed to pull off.

About a week ago, Mitsuko heard news that their parents were going to pay them a visit. It’d been months since Harumi and her sister have seen their parents occasionally, and they both left their parents’ roof for certain reasons. While Harumi had seen Mitsuko as an overbearing sister, it was nothing compared to their parents.

“Mitsuko! Harumi! It’s been nice seeing you two after so long, but we also came here to discuss...your futures,” their mother said.

Mitsuko sighed, their father and mother continued persisting with how they wanted their children to live, and Harumi, as always, remained silent in the background. It didn’t take long until the dinner table turned into a complete fiasco about marriage.

“Mitsuko, please you must consider!” their father pleaded.

“He’s right,” their mother stepped in, “You two are reaching that age, and it’s only for your own good that we’re even offering you a few candidates we’ve chosen.”

“You mean good for the family business,” Mitsuko stated.

“Well, part of that is true,” he admitted, “But your mother and I just want to be sure you and your sister have suitable partners.”

 _What was wrong with having no romantic partner?_ Harumi thought in her head.

“Mother, Father,” Mitsuko began. “I won’t be considering because I already have a suitable partner.”

Harumi winced as the noise of scraping chairs scratched her ears. Her parents simultaneously had stood up from the table in shock. After Mitsuko's big announcement, the two barraged her older sister with a list of questions. Who is he? What was his name? What was his profession? Would he be good for the family? The list was endless.

“When do we meet this young man?” their mother happily asked.

“And is he worthy enough for you and this family?” their father laughed.

Mitsuko took a sip of her tea, ready to declare the news to her parents of who her partner is. She noticed the look of sheer horror her sister was making in her peripheral, but Mitsuko brushed it off. It was better to tell their parents rather than have them continue to offer more suitors to her. Whatever their reaction was going to be, Mitsuko was prepared for it.

On the other hand, Harumi was just waiting for the barrage of snide remarks, insults, or arguments that would spiral from the news. What was her older sister thinking? She and Mitsuko left their parents’ home to avoid the whole arranged marriage fiasco that Mei had already been subjected to. They knew their parents would eventually show them various suitors to consider for marriage, but in the back of Mitsuko and Harumi's minds, they were hoping they would eventually forget about it. Their parents weren't as strict and stuck in the old world as much as the student-council president’s family, but the two still had a habit of persisting their children to follow their ways. The argument the two always made was:

 _It's for your own good_.

So, once Mitsuko finished sipping her tea and set down the cup on the table, she opened her mouth and calmly announced, “My partner is Kayo Maruta.”

Their parents sat speechless.

Harumi wished she had some earplugs with her for what was about to come. She was ready for what her older sister was going to have to deal with.

The attacks.

The guilt-tripping.

Blaming Kayo for turning Mitsuko into _one of them._

Their father clarified if who Mitsuko was talking about was the same Kayo who acted as her right hand in the student council. Mitsuko answered with a yes, and the answer left him scratching his head.

“Mitsuko, what are you saying?” their mother asked in confusion. Harumi felt as if her mother was asking out of denial.

“I'm saying what I just stated. My partner is Maruta, and I won't be accepting any offers of potential suitors,” Mitsuko replied.

“I don't know what to say…” their father said.

Harumi only wished she had stayed out with Yuzu longer instead of subjecting herself to this.

“Take it as you will, Father, Mother.” She looked at both of them in the eye, standing her ground. No matter what they were going to say, Mitsuko wouldn't be swayed. This was her life and not their's.

Whatever they were going to say wouldn't be a surprise to her at all.

“I don't know what to say,” he repeated. “...Other than…” he got up from his chair with an eager smile on his face, “when can we meet her?”

Harumi shot her head up in shock. She looked over to her mom and dad only to find wide grins their faces. Out of every other reaction, being eager to meet Kayo as a future daughter in-law was the last thing she expected from their parents.

Curious to see her older sister's reaction, Harumi looked over to Mitsuko. There was a look of subtle surprise plastered on her face. Her eyes widened just a bit as their father and mother looked at the elder sister happily.

For the rest of that night, Harumi sat at the dinner table, dumbstruck at their reactions. She thought that both of their parents would be disappointed in Mitsuko for dating a woman. But after the ecstatic expressions on their faces, that thought was far from the truth. Apparently, their parents cared a little more about both their daughters ending up with a partner in their lives rather than just with a man. The only reason they had been pushing their way of life, that being ending up with a romantic partner at some point in their lives, was to ensure they would be safe and secure, not just for the family business. One good thing she could say about this whole talk was that it revealed their parents were a lot less traditional as she originally thought. Harumi believed that the reason their parents were so adamant about having a partner was because they didn't want either her or Mitsuko to end up alone.

So, once Mitsuko had told them everything they needed to know about Kayo--things from what she's done in high school to how they got together and future plans, both parents turned over to Harumi and said,

“When can we meet your partner? Are they a boy or a girl?”

She needed to think of something fast. But who could be a good enough partner for her who can keep up with this fake dating charade of her’s?

Yuzu?

If it wasn’t for Mei, Harumi wouldn’t hesitate to ask Yuzu to help her out with this charade. Even if Yuzu agreed, Mei wouldn’t be too happy about it, and Yuzu would of course put her girlfriend’s needs first. Mei was lucky to have someone like her, despite how badly she initially treated the blonde.

Mei?

No. Even to this day, she never knew why Yuzu fell in love with her.

Himeko?

Dating her sounds like a high maintenance job. How could she keep up with fake dating her? Even if Himeko did agree to this, she would be running Harumi to the ground with all her demands and obligations. So...no.

Shiraho-senpai?

She’d probably be a bit too awkward keeping this up, and she’s already said something about remaining loyal to her future husband, so she’s off the list too.

Nene?

Too immature for her. The girl would probably be too busy rambling on about the fake romance going on between Harumi and Yuzu.

There was only one other person left who even seemed like a viable option.

Matsuri…

It technically made sense. She would be good at keeping up a facade. Especially after her previous jobs she was involved in, getting through something as this should be nothing more than a walk in the park.

“So…” Harumi felt herself vomit a bit. She was ready for all the questions her parents would ask her the moment she would bring Matsuri to them.

 _Is she smart_?

Maybe not in school.

 _I_ s _she a good influence on you?_

Hardly.

_Can you see yourself spending the rest of your life with her like your mother and I?_

Harumi gagged a bit at that potential question.

“I'll go out,” Matsuri emphasized with air-quotes, “with you on one condition.”

“Oh? And what would that be?” Harumi snorted. “You want money? More time at the arcade? Pictures of me and Yuzu to sell to Nene? ...that poor girl,” she muttered under her breath.

“Don't worry Taniguchi-senpai, it's none of those things,” the younger girl smirked and pointed a finger at the older girl’s chest. “My condition is...for you not to fall for me.”

Harumi was ready to snack her to the next dimension. But instead of doing that she smirked back.

Her parents would only be staying over for three more days. If she and Matsuri could be convincing enough by then, then her parents would leave her alone about finding someone. It was only three more days. After those three days it would all be over.

Harumi was just hoping she wasn’t making the biggest mistake of her life.

“Bold of you to assume I even would.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is the first fanfic I'm posting on here and wanted to try out writing Harumi/Matsuri just to try out something new. I love Yuzu and Mei, but a little variety wouldn't hurt every now and then. 
> 
> I'm actually super unsure if I'll go through with this HaruMatsu fanfic, so I'll just leave it as a oneshot for now. So, I started out a bit rusty and some things might sound a bit inconsistent since I was playing around with this idea. If any of you guys have any thoughts or opinions on how this was written, let me know! Is HaruMatsu something Citrus readers would like to read every now and then?


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